About Me

Welcome to Kosher on a Budget! I’m glad you found me!

My name is Mara. I’ve been married for 13 years to Frankie, and together we have three children: two boys and one girl. My family moved to Cleveland, Ohio this past August, by way of six years in Kansas City, by way of 12 years in Israel, by way of a bunch of Midwestern towns – and a few East Coast ones, too.

(If it sounds like I’ve moved a lot, I have. The longest I’ve lived in any one house since elementary school is three years.)

Seven and a half years ago, my husband and I were drowning in debt and I couldn’t imagine having $100 in the bank – let alone an emergency fund. In my series An Honest Discussion, I reveal the intimate details of these personal finance struggles and how we overcame them.

If you came to KOAB because you are feeling overwhelmed by a mountain of debt, take heart: You’re not alone.

Today we continue to live on a tight budget — by choice — so that we can afford to splurge on the things we really want while building a solid foundation for our family’s future.

There are thousands of frugal living blogs out there, but what makes Kosher on a Budget unique is that it’s written by me — a modern Orthodox Jewish woman, raising a strictly kosher-keeping family of five. You won’t find anything on KOAB that isn’t kosher – literally or figuratively!

Now that you know a little bit about me, I can’t wait to learn more about YOU! Leave me a comment or contact me with any questions or suggestions you might have!

Comments

I just found your blog on a link up with Life as Mom. I find it really interesting. I’m not Jewish, my family and I are Mormon. But, we greatly admire the Jewish faith, history and traditions. I too am interested in keeping my family budget under control, feeding my family high quality foods at a reasonable cost and getting us debt free. Being Mormon has it’s costs as well.

We recently moved from Seattle WA to Phoenix AZ and I’ve just started a blog about it and our life in general.

Anyway, I just wanted to drop you a note and let you know that I like your writing style and find you blog very interesting.

@Danna – Thanks so much for finding my blog! That so neat 🙂 Good luck with getting settled in in Phoenix. We moved from Israel back to the U.S. 2 years ago and I know what a big upheaval that can be. Hope you’ll stick around here.

Hi Mara,
A friend of mine just told me about your blog, and I am glad she did!
I live in the tri-state NY area, where prices, even with sales/coupons, seem to be much higher than those you advertise, even for the same stores, like Target, Office Depot, etc. I have simply NEVER seen deals like the ones you get (.07/cereal, a few cents for a bottle of water, etc. I looked at your price book and was in complete shock) in NY or CT. I know that you live in KC–do you think that regional price differences can make a huge difference on your budget–not only on food and other grocery staples, but on other costs, like rent and buying a home? Are the deals you get in KC available here in the NY/CT area, but I am somehow missing them? Obviously, online retailers are a different story–it doesn’t matter where you live, which is why I love, love Overstock.com, amazon…and shopping in the IKEA as-is section: I have scored like-new furniture with nothing wrong with it for mere peanuts (like $25 for a dining room table!!!). Further, I would like to know how you find out about these deals to begin with. We get some circulars and coupons in the mail, but it’s not all that much; when I arrive in the store sometimes I look at the circulars, but I never see the prices you do, and never the amount of coupons you seem to receive. What am I missing? Finally, I appreciate your sensitivity to buying wholesome and organic food. For my family, I try to buy as much organic as possible. I would say that ~70%+ of the produce I buy is organic; milk, cereal, and eggs–always organic; fish–always wild caught; I don’t buy meat, but if I did, it would be organic-fed and free range; other products I buy are a mix either because there is less added value in buying them organic or because the difference in price is large enough that I simply haven’t been able to bring myself to buy the organic version. I know that such a lifestyle is a choice I am making, and for me it’s really important. But if you have any tips for those of us who are trying to save despite buying mostly organic food, please let me know!! I get the same good deals you do at Costco on the organic spinach, carrots and spring mix; I shop at Target, and sometimes at WF. Thanks for your tips and inspiration. I didn’t expect I would learn anything new from your blog, to be honest, but I have!

Thanks so much for finding me! I’m glad you are here! Awesome deal on that dining room table. WOW! That’s a lot less than I paid for my USED table on Craigslist. If you don’t mind, I think rather than answering your question about tri-state area pricing here, I am going to borrow it for a Reader Q&A post. I hear this question a lot, so I think it might be good to make it more prominent — that way everyone can benefit. I do Q&A every other Wed… so look for it tomorrow! Thanks again, Angelika!

My rabbi circulated a link to KOAB in his online newsletter and I clicked out of casual curiosity (I don’t keep Kosher nor am I great at budgeting!) but I was really taken with your candor, your helpful tips and your engaging voice. I did a write-up of KOAB today on The Lunch Tray: http://bit.ly/g1Px31

Bettina – Wow! Thank you so much. What a kind review and I LOVE your blog. I am so with you, although I wish I was a better example for my own children about that backdrop of sensible diet and exercise you talk about!

I still find it amazing that anyone other than my friends – and maybe my mom’s friends – read my blog… so to know that your rabbi (!) mentioned KOAB in an online newsletter… wow, that is such a compliment! Thank you so much for your kind words and for sharing the love on your own blog.

Hi! I just stumbled upon your site! I’ve often said to my coupon buddy that we should make a kosher coupon blog. We are both “crazy” couponers and it’s so nice to find another orthodox person doing it!
I’ll be checking in!

P.S. Yes, it also kills us when the Kraft cheese is basically free! Compared to my $25 for a 5lb bag~!

Mara,
I just found your website and I am very impressed with your goal and keeping kosher affordable. I have been in the meat business for over 30 years and involved in the kosher meat business for the past 18 years. We used to produce for golden West Glatt until we closed our business over a year ago. Most recently I have started to work with a non kosher company in Denver and am continuing to bring in both Glatt as well as Regular or “steam” kosher. Our goal has always been to make Kosher as affordable as possible and we plan to continue to keep focused on the goal of affordability. Please let me know how we can start working together!

I came upon your gem of a site trying to find out what in the world happened to Golden West Glatt, from whom we have placed many a massive order. For us, getting decent kosher meat requires some fine folks to ‘chip-in ‘ at the local JCC on a run to the Austin HEB, the only nearest source of kosher beef with an on-staff mashgiach. The meat there isn’t that fantastic either. It borders on the ridiculous the prices that HEB (a company of such a monopolistic magnitude that it’s lettuce could be publicly traded) charges for packaged kosher meats here in San Antonio. Golden West was the one mainline out of this situation which was in any way economically sensible for my family. And their products were damned good, too. Now it seems they are all but kaput.

So now what? Who do we need to bow and scrape to turn to a better mail order source? Any recommendations would be fantastic!

Hi Phillip – I know, I am so sad about Golden West. We have been getting Solomon’s at our Costco lately, but it doesn’t compare. GW was amazing meat. And very reasonable – even with the shipping. I’ve got my ear to the ground, so when I hear about other reliable sources, I will be sure to let my reader know. Thanks for finding me!

I’m a 65 year old widow who began keeping kosher in 2008 not long after my husband died. We were married for 43 years and were both raised Jewish (in New York) but unaffiliated. My mom kept “somewhat” kosher but his did not. I became active in our conservative synagogue shortly after he died. Unfortunately only a small percentage of our members observe kashruth and the orthodox community is relatively small, so the availability of kosher meat is somewhat limited.

I found your site tonight while searching for the latest information on Golden West Glatt. I ordered from them the first time last fall and was thrilled with the quality of the meat. It was so much better than anything I’ve found here in North Florida and the shipping charges were exceptionally reasonable. I began trying to reorder almost two months ago and just kept checking back in hopes of a different result (I think that’s the definition of insanity)

Great site! I’m a very busy Lakewood working mom. I just stumbled upon your site from twitter. Quick note – http://www.Virtuallakewood.com has a great price for kosher elecare formula on the store Dial-a-diaper on it’s site and it also offers Bookman’s kosher meat store online (the prices should be good).
Thanx for your info!

Wow, I can’t believe I just found this site! I am an “extreme” couponer and read the mommy blogs but I am SO excited to find a Jewish woman who writes one! The menu plans are awesome, I was always tweaking recipes and trying to figure out what I could freeze to keep a Kosher kitchen. Thank you for doing this!!

Hi Mara, I’ve been following your blog for a while and trying to use some of your strategies for saving money on groceries. This month, I decided to track our spending electronically to actually get a sense of what we spend. I want to cut my hours at work in the fall, and I thought groceries would be a good place to start. HELP! We’re at $600 already (family of six) and we’re less than 2 weeks into the tracking. (It doesn’t help that we’re restocking after Pesach, but STILL. This seems obscene.) How long would you recommend tracking to get a sense of our average spending? How do I know if this is a typical month / a good representation of what we usually spend? Thanks for any advice, or for directing me to any posts / books you have on this topic.

Hi Rivki – well, as you know, the two weeks post Pesach are not “normal”… that said, they do need to figure into your overall budget. Either as part of your holiday budget (some set aside a certain amount every month, others cash-flow it for that month – we do the latter at the moment.)

As for a realistic reading, we did two “normal” months – so May and June (yes, there’s Shavuot – plus Yom Ha’Atzmaut and Lag b’Omer, but I don’t find they really negatively impact the monthly spending too much.) Anyway, we tracked for two months and that gave us our baseline. Then I took a hard look at our income and everything else we needed to spend money on and tried to figure out a target number for our spending. It took me almost a year to go from $850 to $700 to $600 to now $500. It won’t happen overnight, but you can get there!

Thanks so much for the speedy reply. I think I’ll continue tracking this month, since I’ve already started, but maybe track for another two months after this to get a better picture. At the rate I’m going, we’ll be lucky if it’s only $850 a month. !!! Anyway, thanks for the advice and encouragement. I enjoy and benefit so much from your blog posts. Thank you!

Hi, Mara. I enjoyed meeting you and your family when you brought all that wonderful stuff to us at UHC in Joplin yesterday. Thank you again for everything.
I don’t remember if I mentioned that my husband and I keep kosher in the easiest possible way – we’re vegetarians. Plus, I love to cook, so I make almost everything from scratch. That means I don’t have to read a lot of labels on packaged foods to be sure there’s nothing objectionable in them. Even if I were tempted to eat meat, the thought of keeping separate dishes and everything would stop me for sure. The once-a-year business of switching everything out for Passover and then back again at the end of the holiday is about all there is for us. I’m sure we save a lot of money, too, not having to buy kosher meat. I’m not saying everyone should be a vegetarian, but it’s something to think about.

Would you mind sharing where you order your free-range, grass-fed kosher beef? I’ve had the hardest time finding a reliable source for meat. We had a local source for a little while, but he’s no longer in business.

Thanks for the answer, Mara. I hope you’re able to find another place soon. My Costco (in Central Florida) carries kosher lamb but not beef. It seems there’s a real shortage of quality suppliers out there!

I had heard about your blog a few months ago right as I was starting my own. I was at first afraid to read it because I didn’t want to find out that what I was writing about was already being done (I am also an Orthodox Jewish mom/writer seeking to save money). I finally checked out your site yesterday, after following a link from http://www.jewish-life-organized.com. It is great. I think our blogs complement each other! You are so diligent at finding so many deals and doing so much research for us all. I have now subscribed and will review your site on my blog soon. I am so glad to read all of your tips and can’t wait to catch up on all the other sections on your blog!

Thank you so much for this website! I live in central Florida, and it is so hard to find kosher anything here! I coupon alot already, But I am so limited on what I can actually buy as far as food goes. I am stuck having to order from Avi-glatt or Kosher.com because any other place is just too far away. I look forward to finding deals on this site, and checking out recipes. Thank you so much for doing this! It is such a gift to us!

Hi Mara, A friend of mine just told me about your blog, and I am glad she did! I live in the tri-state NY area, where prices, even with sales/coupons, seem to be much higher than those you advertise, even for the same stores, like Target, Office Depot, etc. I have simply NEVER seen deals like the ones you get (.07/cereal, a few cents for a bottle of water, etc. I looked at your price book and was in complete shock) in NY or CT. I know that you live in KC–do you think that regional price differences can make a huge difference on your budget–not only on food and other grocery staples, but on other costs, like rent and buying a home? Are the deals you get in KC available here in the NY/CT area, but I am somehow missing them? Obviously, online retailers are a different story–it doesn’t matter where you live, which is why I love, love Overstock.com, amazon…and shopping in the IKEA as-is section: I have scored like-new furniture with nothing wrong with it for mere peanuts (like $25 for a dining room table!!!). Further, I would like to know how you find out about these deals to begin with. We get some circulars and coupons in the mail, but it’s not all that much; when I arrive in the store sometimes I look at the circulars, but I never see the prices you do, and never the amount of coupons you seem to receive. What am I missing? Finally, I appreciate your sensitivity to buying wholesome and organic food. For my family, I try to buy as much organic as possible. I would say that ~70%+ of the produce I buy is organic; milk, cereal, and eggs–always organic; fish–always wild caught; I don’t buy meat, but if I did, it would be organic-fed and free range; other products I buy are a mix either because there is less added value in buying them organic or because the difference in price is large enough that I simply haven’t been able to bring myself to buy the organic version. I know that such a lifestyle is a choice I am making, and for me it’s really important. But if you have any tips for those of us who are trying to save despite buying mostly organic food, please let me know!! I get the same good deals you do at Costco on the organic spinach, carrots and spring mix; I shop at Target, and sometimes at WF. Thanks for your tips and inspiration. I didn’t expect I would learn anything new from your blog, to be honest, but I have!

A little while back u posted a great deal when u buy 2 sets of melissa and doug wooden building block. I can’t remember where the purchase was from. I ordered them but they never came. Can u remind me the link? Thank you.

Thank you so much for sharing all of this information. My husband and I eat mostly organic/natural produce because of my health condition and between the two of us (my daughter is 6 months old) we spend $600 on food a month. How do you save on organic produce and where are you getting grass-fed beef from??? I live in NYC. Could this be why?

Love your blog. Just followed you on Twitter also.
I’m looking forward on reading your olders posts and finding more about you and multiple ways of saving more money. I’m spending lots of money on food (kids, cats, me and friends) and I’m always looking for ways to cut buget. Any tips?

My wife showed me your website, she subscribes to your daily updates. I read your Jewish Dave Ramsey series and had a few questions. I welcome responses from other readers as well.

1) I didn’t see if you mentioned day school tuition after you moved to the U.S. – were you able to fit that into your monthly budget or did you do something else?

2) I didn’t see if you mentioned mortgage payments on your new house in the U.S. – how did that fit into the big picture after you moved?

3) I think you mentioned Dave Ramsey’s advice to first get your income more than your expenses, then to get current with all bills before setting up an emergency fund. We are stuck at income vs. expenses and have been for many years. We have deficit of $1,000s of dollars monthly, and have been burning through savings accounts and even retirement accounts. Now there is nothing else to burn and bills are falling behind. Income is as high as possible. Expenses are not as low as possible, but even cutting expenses would not be enough to cover the deficit. How do you or Dave Ramsey or your readers suggest getting out of this predicament?

1. Yes – we do send our kids to dayschool, but… we live in Kansas City where tuition is less than $7K/year. That’s still a TON, but it’s a lot less than many are having to contend with. I wrote on the ‘sacred cow’ of day school tuition – and the comments section is really worth a read.

2. Yes, we have a mortgage. I think I mentioned that we sold our home in Israel for a gain, and we rolled that gain into our home in KS. Fortunately, housing here is less than housing in Israel, so the gain was even more noticeable. Our mortgage is very affordable, and we bought well below what we could have gotten approved for – largely because we knew we’d have to pay for tuition.

3. You are spending $1000s more a month than you make? Is that correct? If so, you’re probably right, that even cutting your bills by 20 or 30% won’t make up the difference. When there is that big of a discrepancy, I think it’s time to look at the things like mortgage, day school, cars (if you have loans/leases) and any other big bites that you have every month. You still need to cut your lifestyle (groceries, clothing – stop buying them, kids activities – stop participating in them)… but this might also necessitate a larger move. Literally and/or figuratively. I know that is probably horrible to hear, but odds are, if you are dealing with a monthly deficit of $1000s, you already know this – in your heart of hearts. Each month that goes on like this will require another year or more of PROFOUND sacrifice to dig yourself out of. It is time to get completely radical. That may mean – moving to a more affordable location (this post on How much do you need to earn to live comfortably has some good insights in the comments section as well), selling your house and moving into a small apartment, even if your kids all need to share a room; getting second jobs; and yes, pulling them out of dayschool. If this is not a short-term problem but a long-term reality, it will require deep and, I’m sorry to say, painful changes. But once those changes are made – you can move forward. The direction will be different and the landscape may be unfamiliar, but you will be together – as a family, living in a way that allows you to look yourself in the mirror every single day! I promise you – it will be worth it!

Hi Mara. Hope you are well! Just a question/ FYI. I had a lot of trouble at Walgreens today using the bic pens deal. They do not like overages there. Maybe I’m nuts, but I tried asking the manager in lots if different ways, but if there is an overage, the coupons won’t work. Have to buy something else too I think! Thoughts? Take care!

Hi Mara–
I found you because I received a notice from Anshei Shalom in West Hempstead that you are coming to speak there. Unfortunately, I’m upstate right now, so I will miss your talk.

However, I’m wondering if you would be interested to come to Deerfield Beach, Florida to speak to our Emunah chapter. I’m the program chairman for the group. We have two possible dates — Wed. November 14th and Wednesday December 5th. We meet at around 1:00, would speak for about 30 minutes, and you could expect 75-100 women to atttend. We raise money for our schools in Israel, so we don’t have any money to pay speakers, but I would invite you to stay with us in our condo in sunny Florida, and visit our amazing kehilla (1000 members in our shul, The Young Israel of Deerfield Beach!) You’ll have a nice Florida visit in the middle of winter, and lots of friendly, interested people who would want to hear you.

I was jut looking at the cards. Some are pretty cute, but to be honest, Maybe it is psychological, but the people in the photos do not look Jewish at all. It would be nice to see ads with people with kippahs and some tsniyus clothing as well. They all look like they just posed for cards they knew nothing about.

My husband is 6’5″ with light brown/grey hair, fair skin and light blue eyes. I am 5’9″ with bright blue eyes and medium brown hair. Our daughter is blond. None of us dress a certain way or wear a kippah outside of Temple. And yet we are no less Jewish than someone in long skirts and a wig or someone short with curly dark hair and a beard.

Stereotypes help no one, not even ourselves Embrace our diversity as Jews!

Hi Mara!
I would like to talk to you about how I have survived my husband’s job loss in this tough economy..I am currently living in NJ and have been supporting my family with my wondrous Ebay sales.
L’shana Tova to you and your family, please feel free to email me so I can tell you more about how I find awesome goods to sell.
GREAT BLOG!!! 🙂
Regards,
Danielle

Hello Mara! Just found your blog and love it!! I’m figuring out how to start couponing (birth of second child putting my own business on the way back burner while trying to figure out how our financial goals will NOT suffer as well). I REALLY enjoyed reading through your Couponing Basics series but it seems they abruptly ended earlier this year. Any plans to pick that series back up? I’m taking your advice & focusing on just one store & category of saving. Thank you again for all your work helping us mommas!

Hi Mara,
I am also an Orthodox married woman living in Israel. I looked through the cleanse recipes and I am not famillar with them. I suppose that you can find them in the health food stores. I am also interested in how you apply you buget techniques for shopping in Israeli supermarkets.
Thank you,
Stefanie Saffern

Hi Mara,
I got really excited when a friend mentioned KOAB. Since I am living on a veeeeery tight budget, a bargain is always appreciated. I tried subscribing a couple of times, but I keep on getting a pop-up saying that I can’t subscribe via email. Is that true, or is there a problem?
Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

There’s not any problem that I know of Gitty. Did you try subscribing by clicking the @ sign at the top of the blog? Feel free to shoot me an email if you still are having problems getting it to work for you. kosheronabudget @ gmail . com. THANKS!

Hi Mara,
Thank you for responding, I finally figured out what the problem was (my fault….) and I just subscribed to KOAB and sent a group text to all of my sibs informing them of your blog.
Thank you for helping out so many people in such a wonderful, much needed way.
Gitty

I came upon your Leek and Sweet Potato soup recipe on Facebook. I wanted to print it out but the copy from the photo did not come out well. Is there a way that I could get a better version of the recipe? Also, I keep a kosher household (kosher outside the home as well, by the way) and I would love to know other kosher recipes.

I’m so glad to have found your blog! I’m in the Midwest myself (actually, Columbia MO so only a few hours from you!) and struggling with the debt as well as how to balance my Jewish identity with the more secular lifestyle I’ve been living (although not really by choice). Thank you so much for sharing! I will definitely subscribe!

Just found you though a Pinterest pin, and I have to say I am thrilled with your blog. I am studying the kosher diet for health reasons, and I think that you are gonna be my ‘go to girl’ on this subject! Thank you also for your story of getting out of debt–we are struggling with that too right now, and I appreciate any help I can get. I look forward to reading more of your posts, and I’m heading to FB to join your page.

Hi Mara,
Love your blog.
I was wondering if you’ve done any research on the best reward credit cards? We are getting rid of our American Airlines mileage card since they’re not partners with El-Al anymore & are in the market for a new one. Any insight or assistance would be very much appreciated.
Thanks!

Hello Mara. I found your site looking for kosher le pesach lists. I have read many posts from kosher consumers looking for meat. I thought I would share with your Florida readers that my son lives in Lakeland, Florida. Since he has a nice size family and knows other kosher consumers, he joins with them to make big orders of chicken, meat or dairy products. They order enough that the distributor sends a truck. I don’t know all the details. If you look up Chabad of Lakeland, you might find out how they organize it. Wishing you and your great commentors a chag kosher v’sameach.

I publish a magazine called WhereWhatWhen in Baltimore. I am writing an article for the magazine about blogs written by Jewish women. I came across your blog and would like to write about it in my article. Would you be willing to talk to me a little about your blog either by email or by phone?

Thank you for your efforts, I follow you on FB and browse your website often.

One comment – – we have an Aldi near us now and I was trying to find a list of kosher items at Aldi and found links to your site (no surprise there) but the list has things like toilet paper.

To my knowledge, there is no kashrut issue with toilet paper, only items that are eaten (with flavor) by the mouth or used on food utensils (such as soaps). Perhaps you could leave out the non-food related items like toilet paper and diapers from these lists? They really do make the lists less reliable and useful IMHO

Thanks for your feedback, Izzy. When I made the list about 3.5 years ago, I asked readers if they preferred all products or just food – and the feedback at the time was everything. I can take a look at it again after the end of the year.

Hey Mara, I hope you are doing well!
I recently looked in the mirror (or my bank account) and said, “It’s time.” I’m looking to find someone to help council me on budgeting. If you do that, on the side, I would be interested in talking with you one-on-one. Feel free to contact me by email when you get a chance with your times and rates. Thank you!-Gila